A PIECE of military aviation history made a special appearance in Hurn this afternoon.

Pilot Terry Martin landed his former Royal Navy Westland Wasp helicopter at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum at around 11am and spent several hours showing visitors and eager youngsters its features.

Wasp XT787 is the last helicopter of its type in South Atlantic colours. Back in 1982 Wasps played a key role in the early stages of the Falklands War by putting the Argentine submarine Santa Fe out of action as it lay moored at South Georgia.

Museum volunteer Rob Ellis said: "The day has gone very well and has been fairly busy with quite a steady stream of people coming through.

"The Wasp has been an excellent educational attraction for us today and the pilot has kindly made himself available for questions. A lot of youngsters have shown great interest in what they are seeing."

Designed to specialise in anti-submarine warfare, the Wasp was built by British firm Westland and entered service with the Royal Navy in the early 1960s.

During its career the aircraft was repurposed to carry air-to-surface missiles and even free-fall nuclear weapons. Fortunately for the pilots these were never used, as the helicopter's top speed of 115 knots was unlikely to take it out of the blast area.

It was still in service in the British armed forces during the Falklands campaign and was only retired in 1988, whereupon some were sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy and used in humanitarian aid missions in the Pacific.

The Wasp can push its rotor blades to 'negative pitch' pushing the aircraft down to a heaving ship's deck in bad seas.

Mr Martin, a former RAF doctor and pilot, purchased XT787 from Kennet Aviation in November 2012. He now works as a consultant anaesthetist and intensive care specialist, and runs the medical department of an air ambulance service based in Devon.

Bournemouth Aviation Museum, a volunteer-run charity with a wide array of aircraft to see, is located at Merritown Lane, Hurn.

Visit aviation.museum@btconnect.com for more information.